City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2025-26 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

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There’s a certain standard at Roman Catholic.

Brad Wanamaker knows that. The newly-minted head coach of the Cahillites has seen that standard firsthand. 

He’s been that standard; A 2007 Roman Catholic grad who returned to the school’s coaching staff last season, Wanamaker has paid witness to several of its 34 Philadelphia Catholic League titles, and played an integral role in winning one as a senior.

Luckily, in his first year at the helm, tasked to hold up that standard, he’s got a battle-tested roster — and an all-senior starting lineup — that’s plenty prepared to maintain the ways of the Cahillites. 

“It’s just part of our brotherhood — when you come to Roman, you want to wear the crown,” Wanamaker said. “You want to be a champion. The eye’s definitely on that prize, but it doesn’t come without the day-to-day work.” 

“We may have a new coach,” senior guard Sammy Jackson said, “but we still have the same Roman tradition, same culture, same mentality.”

And after a bitter loss to Father Judge in the PIAA 6A state title game last season, they’ve got plenty to prove. In fact, Father Judge accounted for half of Roman’s six losses last year — one in the regular season, one in the PCL title game, and one in the state championship. 

The Cahillites have no interest in that recent history repeating itself. 

“There’s still that little chip on our shoulder,” Wanamaker said. “Hats off to Judge, who had a tremendous season last year, and they earned everything. But we want to experience what that victory feels like. Our eyes on that, but we’re building day by day.”

So, the intended destination has been plugged in. What’s Roman’s road map?

Many of the Cahillites’ key pieces this season are returners from a year ago. Of course, Roman lost three key seniors from its rotation in forward Shareef Jackson (now at Lafayette), guard Sebastian Edwards (Shippensburg) and forward C.J. Miller. 

Brad Wanamaker (far left) takes over the Roman job from Chris McNesby (right, crouching). (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

However, Sammy Jackson — a consensus Top-100 prospect who’s committed to VCU — is back to lead the way on what Wanamaker described as an eight-deep rotation. 

Jackson, who averaged 13.4 ppg and 4.9 rpg last year, is one of five seniors who Wanamaker expects to see in his starting lineup. It’s a group features a pair of new faces and a pair of returners — including Jackson — but Wanamaker was pretty straightforward when it came to naming his projected starters:

“We’ve got five seniors, and that’s basically going to be our starters,” Wanamaker said. “R.J. Smith at the point guard, Semaj Robinson at the two, Sammy Jackson at the three, Bryce Presley at the four, Al Jalil-Bey Moore at the five.”

“That’s leadership right there,” he added. “It’s rare nowadays… but we’re in a pretty unique situation.”

Jackson and Robinson, of course, were key pieces for Roman last season, and have been with the program for the entirety of their high school careers. 

According to Jackson, there’s a sense of responsibility to lead amongst the two of them, as those in the Cahillites’ senior class who are more accustomed to the ins and outs of the program.

He and Robinson were not only around for last year’s heartbreaking defeats, but also for Roman Catholic’s 2023 and 2024 PCL titles. However — despite reaching a pair of championship games — the Cahillites haven’t won a state title during their time with the program; the last came in 2022. 

“We know what it’s like,” he said. “We’ve had plenty of talks with the seniors, and as captains, we know what the common goal is and we know what we’ve got to do.”

Despite plenty of returning talent, Roman certainly loaded up this offseason, adding key seniors from prominent local programs. R.J. Smith, a 5-foot-9 point guard committed to La Salle, won Public League MVP last season with 16 ppg, 4 apg and 3 spg. 

Presley, a 6-foot-4 wing from Germantown Academy, and Bey-Moore, a 6-foot-6 forward who transferred in from Prince George’s Christian School (Md.), add size to the Cahillites experienced starting five.

“It’s similar to me having a whole new roster,” Wanamaker said. “It’s been fun. It’s building. We all have something to prove, to each other, and then once the season starts, to outsiders.” 

While the quintet of seniors is certainly the focal point of Roman’s roster this season, Wanamaker is excited about the depth he has available by way of a talented group of underclassmen.

Wanamaker sees 6-foot-8 junior Sabir Lynn — a transfer from Chichester — as well as returning sophomores Bradley Wanamaker III and Dwayne Ruffin, not only as important roleplayers for 2025-26, but also the potential next core for Roman Catholic. Another big piece of the future is freshman Shayne Jackson, the youngest Jackson brother, a 6-6 forward with guard skills.

“It’s a unique situation for them, where they’ve got five guys to look up to,” Wanamaker said, “and five guys that set a standard, to show them how to grind day in and day out and chase a goal. We’re extremely excited about it, because we’ve got some leaders that will lead, and then they set the tone for the future."

With this year’s roster, Wanamaker doesn’t necessarily plan to rewrite the Roman playbook. In Wanamaker’s eyes, longtime head coach Chris McNesby — who won four PCL titles and three state championships in fewer than a dozen seasons — clearly knew what he was doing. 

But Wanamaker may put his own, modern spin on it. 

“Chris had a blueprint that’s set up for winning,” Wanamaker said. “It’s going to still be the same Roman mentality of team basketball. But maybe we play a little faster this year because we’ve got guys that can get up and down the court.”

To this point, as he continues to instill his culture, Wanamaker is grateful to his seniors for taking up that mantle and setting the standard in the preseason, despite a level of unfamiliarty as a whole group.

“They’ve been showing up every day,” he said. “They’ve been pushing each other, pushing the younger guys, making sure everybody’s on board. When you’ve got everyday players, it sets the tone for a successful season.”

And, of course, it’s not hard to imagine why they’re motivated for the upcoming season.

“It’s their last season as high schoolers,” Wanamaker said. “It’s their last chance to win a PCL title — their last chance to leave a legacy at Roman Catholic.”